Horizontal shaft impact crushers are commonly employed to pulverize many different types of materials including, by way of examples, not limitations, asphalt, concrete, and rock. Such crushers typically include a frame defining a cavity. A rotating impeller driven by an external drive mechanism is disposed within the cavity. The frame includes an opening through which the material to be crushed is inserted into the cavity. One or more breaker plates are generally disposed within the cavity. The rotating impeller repeatedly throws the material to be crushed against the breaker plate(s) thereby breaking the material into small particles.
Each of the breaker plates is generally pivotally mounted within the cavity such that its angular position may be changed to suit the type of material being crushed. To this end, each breaker plate is typically supported within the cavity by a number of adjusting rods (typically two). The adjusting rods extend out of the frame. By adjusting the position of the rods (e.g., pulling the rods further out of the cavity or pushing them further into the cavity), an operator can adjust the position of the associated breaker plate.
Many horizontal shaft impact crushers are provided with a split housing which can be opened to facilitate servicing of the rotor, liners, and other internal components. Such split housings typically include an upper housing portion joined to a lower housing portion through a hinged connection. Due to portable plant width considerations, the motors for these prior art crushers are generally located in line with the crusher frame. As a result, when the upper housing or frame portion is pivoted open, the pivoting frame section typically swings toward the electric or diesel drive motor.
As the upper housing section is so pivoted, the pivoting breaker plates inside the frame move under the influence of gravity such that the adjusting rods extend much farther out of the housing than when the housing is in the normal operating position. When the adjusting rods are so extended, they may contact the motor thereby creating the possibility of damage to the adjusting rods and/or the motor during servicing.
The present invention is arranged to reduce the amount and/or alter the angle of extension of the adjusting rods.